hybridbkrdr

So I saw that Nashbar has a Batch Bicycles Lifestyle bike with 27.5" x 1.95" tires and V-brakes. I know I'd probably change things like the bottom bracket and the saddle if I got it. Still, V-brakes is something I really want. But I also wish I had clearance for 2.4" slick tires and fenders. I know the Norco Indie has clearance for 2.4" tires because I measured it with a piece of cardboard in a store.

Here's the dilemma. The Norco Indie has disc brakes. But I think the Batch Bicycles Lifestyle probably doesn't have the clearance for 2.4" tires. So if I have an obsession with getting V-brakes and 2.4" tires, which one is the more stupid of the two?

SkinGriz

How big of a tire can fit on the Lifestyle? In 27.5 is there a tire in between 2.4 and 1.95 you’d be ok with? Why do you prefer V-brakes over mechanical discs?

I guess those might be good starting questions. Seems like a nice bike to me.

fishboat

Perhaps dumb polls are worse obsession

hybridbkrdr

I don't really like the metallic sound of disc brakes. To my surprise, the mechanical disc brakes on the CCM Sutherland I bought at Canadian Tire actually started working well and with less noise with more use. But, I still like the smooth sound of V-brakes (especially with Jagwire brake pads). I have no idea on the tire clearance.

Well, with 0 votes I guess people got tired.

hokiefyd 

I'm with you on the brakes. I have had and still have several bikes with disc brakes, and none of them have the smooth quiet stopping power of a good rim brake. I do love the strong power of hydraulic discs, but my linear pull brakes are just as strong. And I'll be honest -- I never ride in wet/muddy conditions where discs really do have a material advantage. Both types of brakes have pros and cons, and I've come to decide that I just don't ride in conditions where disc brakes "shine" so to speak. I'm not selling my disc brake bikes, but disc brakes also aren't a "must have" for me anymore.

I have a set of Tektro Mini-Vs with the basic Jagwire pads on my Trek 750 and that bike stops as smoothly and as surely as any other bike I've owned. I also have another bike or two with Kool-Stop salmon pads on their rim brakes and those pads are really nice as well. I have been pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of the Jagwire pads, though.

Anyway, yeah, I'd buy the rim brake bike if it has other attributes that you like (such as the tire clearance).

surveyor6

I have become obsessed at times with the rear "U" brakes mounted under the chain stays in the earlier MTB days. Maybe its the BMX vibe. No fun when its muddy.
I have never had much luck with side pull MTB brakes. I even bought a set of XT side pulls. They were smoother, but not satisfactory to me.
The center pull rim brakes used in the early 1990s were my faves. I could make them respond to my liking.

prj71

This simply isn't true.

Where do people come up with this stuff?

kingston 

Someone's personal experiences are what they are. The are by definition true. It is definitely true in my personal experiences that there is nothing I can do to stop my disk brakes from squealing.

hokiefyd 

You're telling me that my disc brakes aren't louder than my rim brakes...??!! Huh! My ears must be playing tricks on me!

prj71

I currently have 7 disc brake bikes in the stable. None of them make any noise. The only one that will occasionally make noise is my fat bike and that's only because sometimes snow gets on the brake rotor and pad and they squeal. Once they dry up they are quiet. The other 6 bikes that have disc brakes have never made noise once.

kingston 

I have one disk brake bike in the stable and have ridden it tens-of-thousands of miles in all conditions. The only thing I can do to keep it from squealing is replace the pads and not ride it in the rain.

DorkDisk

These things do not exist in a vacuum; the reality is that a new 27.5 wheeled bike with V brakes is a low end bike with hi-ten or straight gauge Al frame and fork. If you want 2.4" and caliper brakes, look at 90s 26" MTBs for nice frames that don't suck. I have a bunch; I've got Us, Vs, cantis, you name it. A modern quality frame will most likely have disc mounts, and thru axles.

Regarding noisy disk brakes, sorry not my experience. I've been on hydraulics since 2000, currently have XT, GRX, SLX, and Deore brakes. All quiet. Have worked in shops and worked on many, many hydraulic brakes of all brands. Recently built up a Campagnolo bike with disks, quiet. All brakes can make noise, its important to know what causes them and how to eliminate them.

hybridbkrdr

Aha! At least one person has the audacity to say out loud what some other people might be thinking. I think rim brakes can be as good in most circumstances except maybe emergency braking or in wet conditions. I still prefer the feel of rim brakes. I read the dual compound Kool Stop can be better than salmon in that they don't get smooth during storage.
I think cheaper bikes can have v-brakes and most commuters don't need Deore. I can survive with Tourney (or Altus, Acera, Alivio) although you can change parts like shifters because I prefer RapidFire shifters to grip shifters. And I usually change things like the saddle or even tires etc.
As far as I know, it might be necessary to change the bottom bracket on the Batch hybrid. I've tried square taper bottom brackets from Shimano, Stronglight and Suntour although I find Shimano has a slight edge.

DorkDisk

Sure.

MTBs drove these brake innovations and they shine in MTB applications and allowed MTB frame design to flourish. For riding around the block, any brake will stop you, nobody says otherwise.

hokiefyd 

Regarding noise, I'm not even talking squeal. Disc brakes ideally don't squeal, and rim brakes ideally don't squeal. I'm talking simply about the metallic sound of semi-metallic pads scraping a metallic rotor. And it's not even a solid rotor. The rotors have vent and debris-clearing slots and holes. All of this adds to the general "usage noise" of the brakes.

In contrast, rim brakes smoosh a relatively soft rubber brake block against a smooth brake track on a rim. Nothing is quieter than that, at least in my experience.

That's the quieter I'm referring to, and that's the quieter that I suspect hybridbkrdr is referring to as well.

prj71

Probably the result of cheap brakes, cheap brake pads, cheap rotors.

The good stuff makes zero noise.

kingston 

BB7's. They're terrible.

prj71

Makes sense. Cheap mechanical disc.

DorkDisk

Regarding noisy brakes, I meant no noise, not just squeal. If any of my bikes made noise when braking for no reason, I'd throw it into the the East River.

OldRailfan

Very drastic!